"Rejoice and Again I say Rejoice"

Why should I, who am, by nature, no different from the careless and godless human-beings all around, have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world be now blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Him? Oh, such grace, such love that I have is beyond comprehension! But if my mind is unable to discern a reason, my heart (and yours if you pause to think of all the Lord has done for you) can certainly express its gratitude in praise and adroation. But not only should we be grateful to God for His supassing grace and lovingkindness toward us in the past, His present dealings should also fill us with hearts full of thanksgiving. Someone once asked the question, "What is the force of that word "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Philippians 4:4)? Well I beleive the answer is a simply understanding that our Lord and Savior Jesus is the Master of every circumstance, and as such we can "blessed assurance" that everything that we go thorough is "working for our good" (Romans 8:28)

I do not need to remind you that when the Apostle Paul wrote our scripture of the day, he was a prisoner in the hands of the Romans government. Even more, he had been persecuted by those inside the Church as well as by those outside of the Church and yet still he writes, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice". So when you are going through what seems to be hard times, Rejoice and again I say Rejoice... Jesus has it all under control. You just enjoy the ride and don't forget to rejoice while doing it. Now that I have given you my reason for wanting to Give God All the Glory and the Praise, can someone please tell me why we have so many "Sour Christians in our Churches, Schools and in society as a whole?